On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:08:51 -0700, mhorowit wrote:

I've assembled my compressor, mounted a regulator/filter, have done
some sandblasting, and done some grinding with my die grinder. Now
it's time to learn how to use the paint sprayer.

I've been spraying water on a cardboard surface, but the viscosity/
volitility of water is such that I fear I'm not getting much out of
the exercise.

My end objective is to spray 2-part epoxy primer, but that's expensive
to learn on.

Any suggestions on an inexpensive medium to practice with? Enamel
diluted IAW directions? Interior housepaint? - Mike

be sure to put a water trap in the air line. mine is a sintered jobbie
which combines a step down pressure regulator in one.

I had a friend who painted an Aeronca fuselage with a commercial spray
gun. at the end of the job he guessed that the overspray on the floor
was worth over $200.

I took the hint and sprayed my entire Auster fuselage with enough
overspray to leave just the faintest green dust on the floor. cost of
the overspray was probably $2.

what I used was a miniature Revel type airbrush. it gave a spray just
as wide as the tube and actually sprayed just as fast as a full size
gun. The revel type is the really simple airbrush with the plastic
handle, on off air button control and the little glass bottle. It
blows air past a paint nozzle just like a flit gun.

I found that the airbrush would eventually gum up with dry epoxy paint
even when washed out in solvents.
They cost me $14 each in various shops and over the course of the
fuselage spray task I used 4 of them.

The other benefit is that they spray so little solvent into the air
that you have a far healthier environment to work in.

dont be fooled by the diminutive size of the airbrush. they actually
work beautifully on tube fuselages.

One thing I found is that it is easy to miss the face of a tube. have
someone else look over the fuselage for missed areas. You'll find them
guaranteed.

I practised on the first tubes with the actual thinned epoxy paint.

Stealth Pilot